THIRTEEN DAYS AFTER celebrating his 77th birthday, retired surgeon, former Minister of Finance and one-time Leader of the Opposition Sir Richard Christopher Haynes died yesterday at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH).
He passed away around 1 p.m. after spending about a week in the institution. He had been suffering from throat cancer for a number of years.
Once dubbed “The Second Most Powerful Man In Barbados” in the early 1970s because of his influence and close relationship with then Prime Minister Errol Barrow, Sir Richard was yesterday remembered as a towering intellect who was a pioneer in the medical field, an excellent doctor, a wily politician and a fierce, analytical debater.
The 1956 Barbados Scholar, affectionately called Richie, studied medicine overseas. On his return to Barbados, he oversaw the development of the first intensive care unit and was a driving force behind measures to significantly improve the quality of patient care and medical education here.
